As the jiu-jitsu world eagerly awaits the return of ADCC in 2022, a six-superfight event aptly named Road to ADCC is just on the horizon.
The event, which is set to take place on July 17 in Austin, TX, will take place under ADCC rules and feature some of the top jiu-jitsu athletes of our time, including some of ADCC 2019’s champions and silver medalists.
The main event on the card will see +99kg 2019 ADCC champion Kaynan Duarte face off against 88kg 2019 ADCC champion Matheus Diniz.
Duarte is so far undefeated in 2021, climbing his way up the bracket to win the absolute bracket at 3CG 6 after defeating Victor Hugo in the finals. Prior to that, he took gold at No-Gi Pans in 2020. He most recently put on an impressive performance at Subversiv 5 to help team Atos claim another big win.
Diniz, however, is anything but afraid of a challenge. Prior to his decision to take on Gordon Ryan at Who’s Number One last year, he made it to the top of the podium at ADCC by defeating names like Josh Hinger and silver medalist Craig Jones.
Jones, too, will be on this card, taking on 2019 ADCC bronze medalist Lucas Barbosa in the co-main event. Jones is currently on a six-match winning streak that includes multiple victories at Submission Underground and Who’s Number One. Indeed, he just defeated Tye Ruotolo in the main event of WNO: Jones vs. Ruotolo.
Barbosa, who most recently competed in the main event of F2W 174, will be facing off against Jones for the first time. Following his performance at ADCC, he went on to defeat impressive opponents like Roberto Jimenez and Rafael Lovato Jr. at F2W events. Barbosa is an active and formidable competitor, and he’ll be a good match for Jones on this card.
Also on the card will be a match between 2019 ADCC veteran Geo Martinez and Mikey Musumeci, the latter of whom just claimed a big win over Junny Ocasio at WNO. 2019 No-Gi World Champion Dante Leon will also be taking on Nicky Ryan, and Elisabeth Clay (who qualified for ADCC as a 16-year-old blue belt) will be facing off against multiple-time world champion Ana Carolina Vieira. The first match of the card will see Andrew Wiltse and Roberto Jimenez kicking off the event.
The Road to ADCC will take place on Saturday, July 17, and can be streamed live on FloGrappling.
